Letter to the Editor: Right is becoming a rare commodity – Rocky Mount Telegram

Today, we find ourselves living in a society where unethical decision-making has become a way of life.

Such decisions are self-centered and not intended for the common good of all. Unethical decisions test the endurance of right over wrong. People who “speak truth to power” are quickly labeled as disrupters and racist by those who feel threatened by their message. Indeed, right is becoming a rare commodity.

An exercise in right and wrong was played out recently with respect to the Ward 3 council vacancy. I have no preferences, but look at what transpired from a right and wrong perspective.

Examining the process as a whole, there is no denying that it was deeply flawed. It was right to establish a procedure for filling the vacancy but wrong not to adhere to the established guidelines. It was right to announce the vacancy but wrong not to eliminate applicants who did not fully meet the requirements on the deadline date. It was right to interview all qualifying applicants but wrong not to invite a resident from Ward 3 to participate even if there were no legal requirements to do so. It was right to interview all applicants who met the requirements timely but wrong to interview or consider any applicant who did not. It was right for residents of Ward 3 to lobby for an applicant of choice but wrong for people who would not consider living in Ward 3 if their life depended on it to lobby for an applicant who should have been eliminated from the outset. It was right for the council to make a selection by vote at the end of the process but wrong to select a person who did not meet all requirements and therefore ineligible to be sworn in on the day of appointment.

Council members who voted in the affirmative to appoint a person lacking full qualifications gave credence to a belief that the process was rigged from start to finish and the selection predetermined. But, be of good cheer, Election Day voting can right this wrong.

In the meantime, only time will tell if inclusive progress will survive or will there be a conversion back to a past where decisions were not made for the common good of all. Will wrong continue on an upsurge to trample over right?